cannabisnews.com: Editorial: Smokin' The States' Rights





Editorial: Smokin' The States' Rights
Posted by FoM on November 29, 1999 at 19:58:38 PT
Staff Editorial, Kentucky Kernel U. Kentucky
Source: U-WIRE
The opposition to medicinal use of marijuana seems to be a mainstay in the political pipe of Uncle Sam. Despite a report from a federal advisory panel, the Institute of Medicine, showing evidence that smoking marijuana can help fight pain and nausea associated with numerous diseases, the U.S. government is not satisfied. 
Instead the Justice Department is challenging voter-approved laws in several states that legalize use of marijuana for medical reasons. We believe the states, not the federal government, are in the best position to determine what is best for their own constituents when it comes to the use of marijuana. Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Oregon and Washington all have statutes approving marijuana as a legal prescription drug. These states allowed the people to vote on the use of marijuana. Much like obscenity laws, the courts and the federal government should defer to local community standards to be the litmus test for what is and what is not appropriate use of marijuana. So why should the federal government step in and try to determine what is best when the people of these states have already spoken? The real problem here is that the federal government is paranoid of a snowball effect. As soon as you allow one drug to become legal, the rest will surely follow. The federal government cannot allow the states to have carte blanche in drug matters because approving the use of certain drugs violates U.S. domestic and foreign policy. It is hard to get other countries to follow your lead when you can't control your own country. Despite the predictions that legalizing marijuana for medical use would cause a surge in its overall use, officials have not been able to show evidence of it. Of course there are some technical issues that still need to be resolved. For example, in the state of Washington, the law limits patients to a 60-day supply of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Most doctors are having a hard time determining what constitutes enough of the plant for each patient based on his or her disease. The state is working very hard to develop guidelines for which diseases can be treated with marijuana. But this is a work in progress. The benefits to the patients in need of this drug outweigh the logistic and administrative problems associated with its legalization. The federal government should allow the states to handle the details of a solution mandated by the people. Published: November 29, 1999(C) 1999 Kentucky Kernel via U-WIRE  Copyright © 1995-1999 Excite Inc. Related Article:New Marijuana Research Policy Criticized - 11/29/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3818.shtml
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